Well plug



Oct. l2, 1943. R. BAsslNGER WELL PLUG Filed Aug. 24. 1940 Patented Oct. `12, 1943 l UNITEo y STATI-:s Para NT ortica 2,331,532 WELLBLUG Ross Bassinger, Houston, Tex. ApplicationyAugust 24, 1940, Serial No. 353,990`

(ci. 16e- 12) 3' Claims.

r wardly thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide animproved well plug having casing. gripping means arranged to be expanded by elements disposed to actuatesaid meansfrom opposite longitudinalA directions, whereby either upward and 1 downward pressure or. force, directed against the plug, will increase thel set of the gripping means,v

thereby assuring. against longitudinal displacement.

further object. of the yinvention isto provide' an improved well plug. which when anchored may ber used asa support for a superimposed. tool and which will. hold said toolv against rotation,

A construction. designed to. carry out. the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.v

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing,"in

which an example of the invention is'shoiwn, and

wherein: Y

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional' view of a well plug constructedk in accordance with the inf vention, illustrating the plug wit-h'itsfpartsyre` tracted vso that it mayv be lowered into-thewell,

Figure 2`V is a half-'viewsimila-r to Figurev l, showingl the plug anchored in the welly casing,

Figures- 3, 4, 5, and 6 are transverse cross-sectional Views taken on their respective lines on Figure 1, and

Figure '7. is` an isometrical View ot the box or socketat the'upper end of theplug.

In the drawing, the numeral :lil designates-an elongate tubular actuating memoerforv mandrel which4 has; an; axial.v bore. Il. extending therethrough. The lower portion of the mandrel is slightly reduced and provided with external screw threads l2; sleeveor shank I3 of an annular support or shoe. M. The sleeve I3 is provided withv axial bore;v l5 ywhich terminates. at. its. lower end at an annular shoulder it. formed at. the. upper end of anfenlareed axial here l1A inthe shoe... 'Ilhe The mandrel telescopes the bore I5 of the sleeve is formed'intermediate its ends: with internal screw threads i8' which receive 'the screw threads i2 `of the mandrel, so that when the ymandrel is. rotated it* will be moved longitudinally. in. the bore of the sleeve. It is pointed outthat-` the .lowermost thread i8 on said mandrel may be beveled or otherwise distorted after the mandrel has been inserted in the bore l5, and screwed therethrough. The distorting of said thread maybe done so that said mandrell may not be accidentally backed out.A of said sleeve. while said tool isbeing run into the. well. However, any suitablemeans, such as the l insertion of a pin in the lowerrnostl end. of they mandrel,- may be employed'to accomplish this result. In order to .pack off. the sleeve ,and the4 mandrel, an annular recess l5)A isprcvided in the upper end of the bore for receiving an annular pressure-sealing packing ringkti? .which has an internal diameter ofV such size ,as` to pern'lit the screw threads l2 to pass freely theretlncuigh,y but to snugly engage the smooth outer surface of the mandrel asshown in Figure 2.

The shoe I4 is'providedwith a, plurality of ii elongate, radial.,.vertical recesses 2i in which suitable back-ofi dogs 22 are mounted. The dogs` are secured by pins 23. which, extend longitudinally of therecesses, said dogs being adapted to swing into engagement with the yinside wall of the casing A'upon'clockwise rotation of the plug.

Each of the dogs 22 carriesyertical gripping teeth 24 upon its outer end,v said teeth being so designed as to resist right-hand rotation of thel sleeve. A horizontal' groove 25 extends'back wardly from each of .the recesses, and a short coil spring 2t is positioned in each of the grooves.,v One end of each ofi the springs 2t 'is secured ,to

the shoe Al-"l'l within one ofthe grooves, while the other end of each spring is secured to' one'of the dogs. ASince-the springs are under tension, theynact to urge thedogs andthe teeth cone stantly into engagement with thewall of the casing; It is pointed out that the teeth 25 are 1 designed to allow'verticalmovemento the dogs,

while resisting and substantially preventing lateralv or rotativeJ movement` of the latter.

Obviously, counter-clockwise or'left-handtrot'a- ,l

tion of the sleeve will cause the dogs to swing inwardly out of* engagement with the casing A.

The upper portion of theA shoe is cut back to forman annular shoulder 2l for supporting a' plurality of suitable elastic packing rings 28 which surround the sleeve I3. A frusto-conical slipexpanding `collar 29- surrounds` vthe upperend; of

theI sleeve andJ isv provided@ with inwardlyeprojecting, oppositely-disposed pins 30, engaging in upright grooves 3l formed in the outer surface of the sleeve at the upper end thereof. These pins and grooves permit the sleeve and collar to telescope, but cause them to rotate together. The bottom edge of the collar is undercut at 32 to engage the uppermost packing ring 28. When the collar 29 is moved downwardly, or the sleeve is moved upwardly, the packing rings 28 will be expanded so as to engage the casing A, as is shown in Figure 2. I

A box or socket 33 is formed on the upper end of the mandrel, and is provided with an underlying `annular shoulder 34 which overhangs an annular flange 35 provided in an upper slip expanding collar 36. A suitable metallic bearing ring 31 is interposed between the shoulder 34 and the flange 35, and sustains the thrust of the correlated members. The upper collar is rotatably conned on the shank 38 of the box 33 by means of diametrically-opposite pins 39 which engage in an annular groove or guideway 40 formed in the outer surface of the shank 3B. It is preferable to incline the adjacent upright surfaces of the upper collar and the shank.

The lower slip expanding collar 29 is spaced a substantial distance from the upper slip expanding collar 36, and between these collars there is provided a cylindrical gripping or slip member 4l which has an annular groove 42 at its central portion, receiving a garter spring 43. It will be observed that the lower collar 29 has the major portion of its outer surface inclined inwardly and upwardly to form a lower truste-conical, slip-expanding suface 44, while the upper collar 36 has its outer surface inclined downwardly and inwardly to form an upper frusto-conical slipexpanding surface 45. The slip member is provided with oppositely-inclined surfaces 44 and 45 which cooperate respectively with the surfaces 44 and 45.

The slip member is made with a plurality of spaced vertical slots 46 extending therethrough, intermediate its upper and lower ends, whereby comparatively short and thin webs are left at the upper and lower ends of the slots. When the collars are moved toward each other, and their slip-expanding surfaces thus caused to ride upwardly and downwardly on the faces 44 and 45', the webs will be fractured, whereby the slip member will be divided into a number of vertical slip sectors held together by the spring 43. Continued movement of the collars will expand the slips into engagement with the casing, as shown in Figure 2. The slip member is formed with circumferential saw teeth 4l, and consequently will anchor against either upward or downwardy movement.

If only one expanding surface is provided, as shown in my co-pending application, hereinbefore referred to, huid pressure exerted against the plug in one direction will expand the slips, but when fluid pressure is exerted against the plug in the opposite direction the slips will be released and there would' be nothing to hold the plug against displacement. In the improved device, described herein, fluid pressure exerted upwardly against the plug would move the collar 29 upwardly and would cause the surface 44 to slide on the face 44 :and further expand the slips, whereby their teeth would bite more rmly or deeper into the casing. If pressure is exerted downwardly on the plug, the upper collar 36 wouldbe depressed whch would cause the surface 45 to slide` down the face 45 and further expand the slips, thus the plug will be held against displacement by forces from either direction.

In running the plug into the well, it is suitably attached to a proper tool and for this purpose, the box 33 is provided with internal screw threads 48 above which is an inclined lip 49. The lip and upper end of the box are provided with a plurality of radial slots 50 spaced to receive projections on any tool having the same which may be mounted on said box. Ordinarily, these slots may not be used, as for instance when the usual jars are connected in the box for the purpose of running and setting the plug. But should it be desired to support a liner or other device having lugs which are engaged in the slots 5&3, such liner or other device will be held against rotation as well as supported.

An anchoring spider i provided with upstanding blades 52 inserted in complementary slots 53 in the bottom of the shoe I4, is fastened to said shoe and held in position by transverse pins 5d which extend through the blades and adjacent portions of the shoe. This spider provides a cage for a valve ball 5e. When the plug is lowered into the well, the fluid will move the ball upwardly against a seat ring The lower end of the mandrel l is reduced at 5l' so as to be moved through the ring t to displace the ball, as shown in Figure 2.

The setting of the plug is simply and easily carried out. The plug is run into the well, usually below jars (not shown) suspended from a string of tubing. The fluid present in the well will cause the valve ball 55 to move upwardly against the seat ring S which is slotted so as to permit a sumclent quantity o1` fluid to by-pass. When the desired point is reached in the well bore, the plug is rotated in a clockwise direction, whereby the springs 26 cause the dogs 22 to engage the wall of the Well casing A, and whereby further rotation of the shoe I4 and the sleeve I3 is prevented. However, rotation of the mandrel is continued and through the coaction of the screw threads l2 and i8, the sleeve I3 and the mandrel l are moved relatively longitudinally so as to cause the collars 29 and 36 to telescope the slip member 4I and expand the same into gripping engagement with the casing, as hereinbefore explained.

When the slip member is fractured, and the slip sections bite into the casing wall, the plug is anchored. Continued rotation of the mandrel IU will cause the packing rings 2S to expand and securely pack ofi' the plug. As the mandrel moves downwardly, the reduced end 5l enters the ring 56 and engages the valve ball Sii, as is shown in Figure 2. This shuts 0E further flow up the mandrel, and the well ls thereby efficiently plugged. Any suitable type of wash-down device may be employed, and the plug may be drilled out if necessary.

Various changes, alterations, and modifications may be made in the size, shape, and arrangement of the herein described elements within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Awell packing device including, an actuating member having a longitudinal bore therein, a support movably carried by the actuating member, the actuating member and the support being threadedly connected together for moving said support longitudinally of the member when said member is actuated, a packing mounted externally on the support, casing-engaging dogs carried by said support, a cylindrical slip member having cppositely inclined interior surfaces, and separate slip-expanding means one of which is carried and actuated by the support and the other of which is carried and actuated by said actuating member engaging the inclined surfaces of the slip member and movable toward each other for expanding slip member when the actuating member is rotated and the support is held by the dogs. v

2. A well packing device including, an actuating member having a longitudinal Vbore therein, a support movably carried by the actuating member, the actuating member and the support being threadedly connected together for moving said support longitudinally of the member when said member is actuated, a packing mounted externally on the support, casing-engaging dogs carried by said support, a lower collar having an 20 end of the slip cylinder.

upwardly directed. external frusto-conical surface being slidably conned on the support, an

upper collar having a downwardly directed external frusto-conical surface being rotatably conned on the actuating member, and a cylindrical slip member carried by the frusto-conical surfaces of the collars for expansion thereby upon relative movement of said collars toward each other as said actuating member is rotated relative to said support.

3. A well plug including, a longitudinal tubular mandrel, a box at the upper end of said mandrel, an upper collar rotatable on said upper end and having a conical expanding surface, a slip cylinder provided with external annular -teeth having its upper end engaged around said upper collar, a sleeve having screw-threaded engagement with said mandrel, casing dogs carried by the sleeve, packing carried by the sleeve, and a lower collar slidably confined on the sleeve and having a conical expanding surface telescoping the lower ROSS BASSINGER. 

